Xifengjiu - One of the Four Famous Alcohol Brands in China

Xifeng Liquor is one of the four famous Chinese alcohols. It is produced in Liulin Town, Fengxiang County, Shaanxi Province, about 150 km (90 miles) from Xi’an. The materials are sorghums, beans, barley and wheats. They experience fermenting, distilling, storing and blending before becoming the transparent liquor. The volumes are between 38%-55% in general. Those with 45% and 52% vol are the most popular. Xifeng wine belongs to Feng aroma type Chinese liquor, which combines the advantages of light aroma and strong aroma liquors. Actually, the aroma was named after Xifeng liquor.

What give Xifengjiu the unique Feng Aroma?

New Mud Applied to Old Cellars Every Year

This is a unique technology of making liquor. The mud cellars are renovated once a year. The old mud on walls and bottoms is removed and new mud is pasted. In this way, the quantity of microorganisms is controlled, and the flavor of liquor would be neither too light nor too strong, forming its own flavor.

Repeated Fermentation with Shorter Fermentation Period

One fermentation period of Xifeng Wine is only eleven to fourteen days long, which is shorter than fermentation of other liquors so that the output is improved. But the raw materials experience continuous fermentations repeatedly. Although the period is shorter, the micro ingredients to produce Feng aroma in Xifeng Liquor are not less at. One complete fermentation process takes about one year.

Combined Ways of Making Yeast

The yeast of Xifengjiu is a kind of high-temperature wheat yeast, which can survive at the peak temperature of 60 ℃ (140 ℉). It is made of the materials to make light aroma yeast, but with the methods to make strong aroma and sauce aroma yeast, which gives the liquor a unique aroma.

Unique Storage Containers Weaved with Willow Twigs

The traditional storage containers of Xifeng Wine are waved with local willow twigs, like big baskets. Hemp paper is pasted on the inner wall, then people brush a layer of pig blood on it. After that, a paint that mixed with a certain percentages of egg white, beeswax, cooked rapeseed oil will be brushed on the layer of blood. When it becomes dry in the air, the container is finished.

This unique storage container is called Jiuhai, literally “Liquor Sea”, which is different from the storage containers of other wines. It is good for ripening of liquor and suitable for long-term storage. What’s more, all these substances brushed on undoubtedly play an unneglected role in producing the unique flavor of Xifeng Liquor and making the wine have a honey aroma. Usually, the liquor will be stored in Jiuhai for at least 3 years before putting into the market.

Xifeng Liquor Price

The major products of Xifeng liquor include Seven-color, Aged in Liquor Sea, Huashan Lunjian, 6 Years, 15 Years, Green-bottled, Original Xifeng Liquor, etc. Generally speaking, the popular Xifengjiu is priced at CNY 200-300 per bottle of 500 ml. The cheap ones are CNY 50-60/ bottle, while expensive ones are CNY 500-700/ bottle.

History of Xifeng Liquor since 2,600 Years Ago

Liquor wares about 6,000 years ago were once unearthed in Liulin Town, showing the history of making wine there is pretty long. In the late Shang Dynasty (17th century BC - 1046 BC), Xifeng Wine, called Qinjiu at that time, was the royal wine for noblemen. Later, emperors often feasted army with the wine after victories. In Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD), it changed its name into Liulinjiu.

In Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD), Xifeng Liquor was quite popular and was regarded as a treasure. Since then, it became the tribute to emperors. In Northern Song Dynasty (960 - 1127 AD), the famous poet Su Shi served here, and he wrote many poems about the wine, making it more famed.

In early period of 20th century, it was renamed as Xifengjiu, but the production was limited for the effect of wars. After the establishment of People’s Republic of China, the industry of Xifeng Liquor recovered and became more and more strong.